Former Nashville Predators Captain Gets Posthumous CTE Diagnosis

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Joshua Deeds
July 10, 2024 (8:25 PM)

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Former Nashville Predators Captain, Greg Johnson's family, and the Concussion Legacy Foundation have disclosed that the former forward has been diagnosed with CTE.

The findings have come posthumously, as CTE, a brain-withering disease is common with players of sports linked to repetitive trauma.

This was reported by TSN's muckraker, Rick Westhead, five years after the players death by suicide.

Former NHL player Greg Johnson, who played 14 seasons in the league, has been posthumously diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, the brain-withering disease linked to repetitive brain trauma in contact sports.

Story from
@rwesthead
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Johnson, was a 14-year veteran of the NHL, playing with the Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Nashville Predators, and Pittsburgh Penguins.

Johnson was selected 33rd overall by the Flyers in 1989.

«I had no idea what CTE even stood for when my dad took his life,» Johnson's daughter, Carson said in a statement released by the Boston-based Concussion Legacy Foundation. «Now understanding that the hits he endured throughout his hockey career damaged his brain, I want all athletes to understand the risks and I want the NHL to start acknowledging it exists and do more to protect its players so other daughters don't have to lose their fathers.»

Johnson was only 48 years old, when he took his own life, by a self-inflicted gunshot wound on July 7th, 2019.

The two-way center is another victim of CTE, of which 17 of 18 NHL player's brains studied in the US and Canada have been diagnosed with CTE posthumously. Named including Ralph Backstrom, Henri Richard, Stan Mikita, Bob Probert, Steve Montador, and Bob Murdoch.

CTE has also been observed in amateur hockey players as well.

Gary Bettman has continued to deny the link between hockey and CTE, as he maintains no association between the two and professional sports. We all know what kind of good lapdog he is for ownership.

«Other than some anecdotal evidence, there has not been that conclusive link there has not been conclusive determinations,» Bettman testified.

Johnson's posthumous diagnosis of the brain disease, should land Bettman and the NHL in hot water.

Source: Hockey Feed
Another NHLer gets posthumously diagnosed with CTE after suicide